Chapter 7
The knocking continued.
"It's Persephone." Said the voice on the other end.
Jackson crawled out of bed and walked to the door. He opened it to find Persephone with a bag of Chinese take-out.
"I thought you might be hungry." She said.
Jackson said nothing as Persephone came in and set the bag of food on the table. She looked to the corner and had noticed the plaster cast of the foot print smashed to pieces. She had a feeling something was wrong.
"You did promise that the killer would be brought to justice." Persephone told him.
"This is no ordinary program. What good am I doing by being here anyway?" There was doubt in Jackson's voice as he spoke.
She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"The people of Mega City have put their trust in you Agent Jackson."
"Who are we kidding here Persephone? They don't have faith that I can stop this... thing."
"Won't they still have justice Agent Jackson? Or was it all bullshit?"
Jackson just paced the apartment and sat down at the edge of his bed. With a heavy sigh he put his head in his hands because somehow he knew the Frenchman's wife was right. A few moments later they heard someone running. It was Sati who came in she was out of breath and there was a look of distress on her face.
"Agent Jackson..." She was out of breath.
"Sati, what happened?" Jackson tried to calm the girl who was now hysterical.
"Something bad has happened." She said.
"What?" The Agent asked.
Sati ran like hell down the hallway. Jackson and Persephone followed as she flew down the stairs and into the street where a group of people were gathered in the park. Jackson and Persephone made their way through the crowd. Once he got to the front of the crowd, the Indian that he had seen when he met with Seraph and The Architect was being hung from the tree as crowd gathered around.
"We don't need you Agent Jackson." It was Merv.
The Merovingian strode towards the Agent from the group of men who were doing the lynching. Seraph was also there.
"The men who have done this have been found. We do not require your services any longer." Merv told him.
Merv pointed to The Twins who looked like they were beaten very badly. Both of them were in handcuffs and shackles, two soldiers from Zion were armed and guarding them. One spoke up.
"You should be thanking us. The killings will now come to an end!" The albino said.
"Shut up!" The Zion soldier shouted as he hit, One in the stomach with the butt his machine gun.
"They will spend 48 hours in jail." Merv said.
"48 hours? For murder? You have got to be kidding me?" Jackson asked.
"For jay walking. Or do you suggest that we re-write the laws of the mainframe now that old Morpheus is dead?" Seraph asked.
Jackson looked at the hanging Indian.
"Doesn't look like he was jaywalking to me." Jackson said.
Locke made his way to the Indian's dead corpse. He climbed the tree and cut the rope letting the dead Indian fall. The corpse landed hard and in a heap on the ground. Jackson watched and noticed something. In the Indian's hand was a silver circle with a star in the middle.
"Wait a second." Jackson spoke.
The Agent knelt got a closer look, he took the odd piece of jewelry and he noticed that there was something else. The mouth was open, and he could see cavity ridden teeth. Jackson grabbed a twig nearby and pried the corpse's mouth open so he could get a better look inside. And then he grabbed a small digital camera out of his pocket and started snapping pictures of the inside of his mouth,
Back in his apartment, Jackson looked closer at the talisman. And then he looked closely at the pictures that he uploaded from his camera onto his laptop computer. He sat just sat there staring at it like he was in a trance. He took out his pocket recorder and started to speak into it.
"The Indian had much to tell when I opened his mouth. But how do I know this? Anyone with next to nothing for dental care would have their teeth rotted out by his age. His teeth were in way better shape than those of the Train Man. I am assuming he could not have taken care of his teeth all by himself. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion, that he may have had a regular dentist."
Jackson clicked off the recorder .
The very next day Jackson made his way to the local observatory, Sati was with him. He noticed that a caravan at least six cars were making their way up the road.
"What's that?" He asked the girl.
"Oh them, it's Pay Day so it happens on the last day of every month just like clockwork." She explained.
Jackson pointed to the horizon which showed a view of Mega City.
"Tell me what do you see?" He asked.
"The park where The Oracle used to take me when I was little." She told him.
"Look again." He told her.
She saw a plume of smoke rising from the woods in the park.
"Oh my God! That's smoke!" She paused. "But that's not regular campfire smoke, that's..."
"Chimney smoke." Jackson finished.
Jackson took out a small rectangular object out of his pocket.
"Are you familiar with compasses at all Sati?" He asked.
"Yeah sure why?" She asked.
"If there is an entity of some sort, this will help detect it." Jackson told her.
He held the compass in his hand and Sati watched as the needle moved.
"Now if this park is truly a part of the mainframe they call Hell, we will see it for ourselves."
Sati felt uneasy.
"My father said that witches live there." She told him.
Jackson let out a deep sigh.
"Witches don't exist Sati. However..."
He looked at the compass and marked where the needle hit as he continued to speak.
"Not long ago, I would have said the same thing for the Headless Agent." He finished saying.
A voice from below called to Jackson.
"Agent Jackson! I need to speak with you! Alone!" It was Persephone and by the look she gave she did not look too happy with him.
Jackson and Persephone were back at his apartment. He could tell she was pissed off by the tone in her voice.
"What the hell were you thinking?" She shouted.
"Listen, I have to be thorough here, even if that means leaving no stone unturned. I don't mean to be heartless about this..." He started to say but Persephone interrupted him.
"I was wrong about you. I had no idea that you could be so disrespectful of the dead Agent Jackson!" Her voice started to shake.
"You not thinking clearly Persephone. When I examined Ms. Henry's body, I discovered that she had been run through with a sword. I followed the path of that wound and it pierced the heart of the baby she was carrying. And then I couldn't understand why there was that much blood. I couldn't comprehend it until I saw the Agent with my own eyes." Jackson explained.
"What the hell are you talking about." Persephone inquired.
"The baby she was carrying was eight months old and she was damned close to delivering. The sword pierced the baby's heart exactly." He told her.
"I don't want to hear this Jackson." She was now shaking.
"I'm telling you, whoever or whatever did this knew what the hell they were doing, this was not the work of someone who was blind. This single thrust found it's target the very first time. It was like the Agent made certain that the baby died with their mother." He continued to speak.
"And this is supposed to be some sort of slaughter?" Persephone asked him.
"No it wasn't slaughter at all." Jackson said.
"Well what the hell is it then? Scientific perhaps? How can any of this matter anyway?" Persephone was now irritated.
"I don't know! All I know is that I can't ignore it anymore dammit!" Jackson shouted.
There was a long pause between them and then Persephone broke the silence.
"Take a lesson from young Sati, Agent Jackson. She followed you to the observatory today to avenge her father's death. That I can understand completely. But do you want?" She asked.
"To avenge her father... and the others." He answered.
"But why? Tell me why?" She prodded.
Jackson just stood there silent as she looked into his deep blue eyes searching for an answer.
"You can't even answer because you strive for perfection without even putting your whole heart into it. Can't you see that? You'll bring dignity to the dead even if you have to dissect them like frogs in science class to do it." She said.
Her words cut through him like a knife and made him angry and he spoke the words he would soon come to regret.
"You know something? If it had been surgery to save someone's life, you wouldn't be questioning my motives. Not for one goddamned second! So let me be the first to tell you lady, on the other side of this mainframe, there is a whole fucking world that is far more advanced in such asinine thinking like yours. And let me tell you another thing, no matter how scared you are of it, advancement will come to wake this part of the mainframe out of its sleep!"
Persephone looked pissed and then she stormed out. But before she left she said on last thing.
"Agent Jackson?"
"Yes?"
"If that is the way you think, then you can go fuck yourself." And then she flipped him off.
Jackson looked as she walked down the hallway.
"Oh yeah? Well fuck you too!" He said as he flipped her off right back.
He stormed back inside and slammed the door behind him. A feeling of regret washed over him over the words he had with Persephone.
"Shit!" He said out loud to himself as he pounded his head against the door.
The next day Jackson drove to the park and he was followed by a search team and they made their way into the park. They made their way to the abandoned playground. Even though it was daytime it still dark and creepy. The men behind Jackson stopped.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Listen." Said a man in the group
To the Agent's surprise he could hear nothing
"I hear nothing." He said.
"Not even the wind." The man said.
Jackson all of a sudden felt uneasy. He took out his compass and it pointed directly into the woods. The Agent pointed the way to group to follow him. Unbeknownst to the group someone was in the shadows watching. The group continued walking until they reached what looked like a small shack. The group felt uneasy. Jackson saw that smoke rose from the chimney.
"Looks like we're here guys." Jackson told the group.
Jackson walked up to the door, reluctantly he knocked. There was no answer so he stepped inside to investigate. Then he stepped into the living area where he saw an older woman in her 60's sitting by the fire. She had grey hair and was plump. She was watching a soap opera on a small color TV and she looked like she was engrossed in the program.
"Excuse me ma'am. You didn't answer when I knocked. Am I intruding?" He asked.
The old woman looked in the Agent's direction
"Are you from Mega City?" She asked.
"Sort of." He answered.
Jackson looked around the living room and at it's strange decor. He noticed animal skulls and strange symbols. He also noticed what looked like ceremonial knives. He took the talisman the Indian was holding out of his pocket.
"The Indian who lived in these woods... did you know him?" He felt uneasy talking to her but continued to speak anyway.
"I should tell you... he's been murdered."
The old woman scowled at him.
"Get out of my house. You're not welcome here." She said in a menacing tone.
She placed something on the table next to her, it was a dead bright red cardinal. Jackson felt fearful as he backed away.
"Do you seek a remedy against the Agent?" She asked.
She stood facing him. All Jackson could do was nod.
"Follow me." The old woman instructed.
She took a flashlight and Jackson followed her down the stairs to her cellar. The ceiling was low and the cellar stunk of mold as they descended down the steps to her lair.
"I hear him. He runs to the Mega City and back." The old woman said.
"The Agent. Yes." Jackson answered her.
"Sit down." She instructed.
Without saying a word, Jackson sat on a crooked metal stool. The old woman kneeled with her back to him as she gathered straw into a pile on the floor.
"Can you help?" Jackson asked her.
"You want to see into the nether world... I can show you. Whatever you see, do not move, do not speak. I will hold him." She said.
Jackson watched as the old woman gathered bowls as she put powder and grass into a pile.
"What are you doing?" Jackson asked.
The old woman turned to him with a stern look on her face.
"Quiet Agent." She said.
He watched as she took jars from the table next to her. She poured what looked like ashes into a pile, she took out a baby bat and cut it's head off saturating the straw with blood. As she did this she began to speak in what sounded like Latin. She took a Zippo lighter and lit the straw. She then took out a pair of handcuffs and put them on making sure she was locked in tight. She then bent to inhale the smoke.
"He comes now." The old woman said.
Jackson wanted to leave but he couldn't.
Outside, Jackson's team looked up to the sky which was now growing dark. Through the trees, the clouds were billowing and blocking out the sun.
Back in the cellar the old woman slumped and with her back still to Jackson. She did not move at all. Outside he could hear the wind howling and then rain. The flashlight went out and Jackson stood up. He was worried.
"Uhm... excuse me."
The old woman remained motionless. But the wind outside got louder. Jackson saw the skin of the old woman change before his eyes. The woman's hands were swelling in the cuffs, her skin cracking bleeding. Jackson inched closer.
"Are you okay?"
The old woman turned and in her place was a hideous half-program half-demon creature. Its clawed hands reaching for the Agent.
"JESUS!" Was all Jackson could say.
Thankfully the handcuffs had chains that attached the monster to the wall. Jackson hit the floor, knocking over a table of bones. The creature screeched as it still reached for him. The old woman's face transformed. She now had red eyes, jagged teeth and dripping nostrils. A voice from hell came from its mouth.
"You seek the program bathed in blood...the Headless Agent."
Jackson slid back as far as possible while the creature clawed at the floor.
"Follow the trail where the sun dies. Follow to the tree of the dead where Smith and his army buried him." The creature said.
The creature continued to pull at the chains. One of the bolts slipped and fell to the floor. The chains were coming loose.
"Climb down to the Agent's soulless place and let loose his silent screams! Do you hear? Do you hear it?"
All Jackson could do was nod. He glanced to the exit. The chain to continued to give even more. The creature continued to speak.
"He who holds the Agent's desire will guide by his reaping hand. Catch hold of his desire."
Jackson bolted for the door, the creature bolted after him, howling as it did so. He ran up the stairs as the chain broke. He cried out as he was tackled to the floor. It was the old woman who was now back in her own form. She was unconscious as Jackson shoved her off and quickly. He walked quickly outside. The men in his party could tell something happened.
"Let's get the hell out of here." Jackson said.
He headed to his car while the others followed. He was too shaken to speak about what he had just witnessed.